Standing on the street, Liam helped her into her jacket. The cool breeze off the ocean sent a shiver up her spine. Or was it another whiff of his cologne as he straightened her collar?
He scanned the street, then pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll get taxis for us,” he said as he waited for the call to connect. “So, what do you want to see tomorrow?”
“You’re the native. I’ll let you choose where we go.”
“Sure, put all the pressure on me. There’s an Italian coffee shop on Vallejo Street just east of Columbus Avenue. Why don’t we meet there at nine o’clock?”
“I know the place. What should I wear?”
“Comfortable shoes. Anything else is optional.” The dimple was back.
A taxi pulled up and Liam opened the door for her. “The taxi is on my company account so don’t worry about paying him. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lorelei. I’ve really enjoyed this evening.”
“I have as well, thank you.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and dug her fingernails into her palm. She wanted to kiss him. Should she kiss him? After she climbed into the taxi, she opened the window in case he wanted to bend down and kiss her.
Liam handed the driver a couple of notes and instructed him to take her wherever she wanted to go. He stood back as the taxi pulled away from the curb. It probably wasn’t cool, and it definitely appeared desperate, but she watched him out the back window until the taxi turned the corner.
…
A second taxi pulled up in front of the restaurant and Liam climbed in, giving the driver his address. He leaned back in the seat and let a self-satisfied grin cross his face. Tonight had gone exceptionally well. And he had a date for tomorrow. If that went anywhere near as smoothly as tonight he’d have this romance sewn up and the book finished within the month.
He still couldn’t believe he was doing this. It was sheer stupidity taking a leave of absence from the company he founded to write a novel for his brother. Marcus had been the writer in the family; what did Liam know about fiction? He wrote security programs, not romance novels.
The whole thing had disaster written all over it. But he’d promised Marcus, and his brother had been the only person in his life to love him, so he had to do it. His heart wrenched again, thinking about Marcus’s last breath, his grip weakening until his hand was limp in Liam’s…the inconsolable sobbing of Marcus’s wife as the nurse pulled the sheet over her husband’s face…
To stop the memories from overwhelming him, he stared at the taxi’s ceiling and remembered Lorelei’s green eyes, which crinkled at the corners when something amused her. His fingers longed to run through her hair, to scatter the pins that had welded it to the back of her head and see it tumble down her back, preferably her naked back. He gritted his teeth. No, he couldn’t go there. No sex. It was one thing to lead her on and romance her for the sake of his brother’s book—he couldn’t go as far as sex, as much as he wanted to. He’d seen a flash of vulnerability in her eyes that had nearly made him tell her right there the whole thing was a sham.
But was it? So far they’d had a meal together. Tomorrow they’d do some sightseeing. It was no big deal. Except he had a sinking feeling it was about to be. What had David said? He was so screwed.
Ten minutes later the taxi pulled up in front of his building. Climbing out, he handed a twenty to the driver. Near his door he could hear the subwoofer throbbing to some action-adventure film. He turned the key, and sure enough only the bottom lock was latched. He heaved a sigh. It was like living in the frat house again.
College was long behind him—as was the fool he’d made of himself there. If it weren’t for David he probably would have told Diana, his second girlfriend, all about his new security program. As it was, David had seen her being overly friendly with a rival programmer, and alerted Liam to the fact that she was another corporate spy. Twice was more than enough to learn not to trust women.
Yeah, he owed David a lot, but there had to be some boundaries.
“Hey man, you’re back early,” David said as he popped his head over the sofa.
“Is it? It’s after ten o’clock.” Liam grabbed a handful of M&M’s and dropped into the armchair, his back to the TV. Helen straightened from where she’d been lounging on the other sofa and ran a hand over her hair.
“How’d it go?” David turned the volume down on the film.
“Good. I’m seeing her again tomorrow, taking her on a tour of San Francisco. Any ideas on what we can do?”
“Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf, cable car, the normal tourist fare,” David said.
“Sounds mind-numbingly boring,” Helen said.
“What would you suggest?” Liam turned to Helen. She didn’t meet his eyes. Odd, she’d never been shy with him before.
“A baseball game,” she said in a rush.
“Really? I thought that would be at the top of the boring list.”
“No, women love it. Three hours, at least, to talk and get to know each other. Plus, they think they’re doing something the man likes so that makes them even happier. It’s a win-win situation.”
Liam shook his head. “I hate baseball.”
“But it’s a regular guy thing,” David said.
“I guess.” Liam wasn’t convinced. Even with Lorelei for company he wasn’t sure he could sit through the tedium.
“So, did you make a move on her?” David leaned forward.
“No. Don’t be an idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot. A woman that hot must know how to do all kinds of wicked things to a man. I thought she’d be all over you with this new look of yours.”
“Shut up.” Liam heaved himself out of his chair. “Time to go home. I want to lock up and hit the sack.”
David resembled a man who had been sucker punched. Liam had never kicked his friend out of his place before.
“What’s up, bro?”
“Nothing. I’m tired and I have another date tomorrow so I need sleep.”
“Two dates in twenty-four hours. Must be good.”
“Yeah. Good night, Helen.”
Helen gave him a watery smile, like she might burst into tears at any minute. What was going on with her now? What had he done to upset her?
After his guests left he locked the door and set the alarm. Despite what he’d said to David, he was too restless to sleep. So he poured a glass of whiskey and wandered into his home office. As the array of monitors came to life he relaxed, back in his world now. He did a test penetration into a new client’s system. It took twenty minutes, but he was able to access their core data and financial information. Flagging the weakness, he sent a message to his team working on the project.